Councilman pushes back against New Milford mayor’s claim on conflict of interest

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NEW MILFORD — Town Councilman Tom Esposito has strongly denied Mayor David Gronbach’s claim he created a conflict of interest by involving himself in details of the modernization project at the town library.

Gronbach wrote to Esposito earlier this month, saying the conflict arose when the councilman asked the architect and a subcontractor for the project to meet with him and his boss at Green Star Energy Solutions, a Brookfield-based contractor for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. The letter accuses Esposito of pushing for a rewrite of specifications to favor Green Star’s products and services.

Esposito flatly denied the charge during Monday night’s council meeting.

“I have done zero wrong,” Esposito said.

The councilman said he made clear in previous council meetings, and during a walk-through at the library with the subcontractor, library director and architect, that he simply wants to ensure the library design is as energy efficient as possible. He said neither he nor his company intend to bid on the project, and are unable to do so because they are not bonded for public projects.

“All I did was educate,” Esposito said.

Joseph Novella, managing member of Green Star Energy Solutions, last week wrote to Gronbach saying the meeting was meant only to share the company’s expertise.

The mayor has said he learned about the meeting when someone on the library committee called his office asking for clarification on a change of plans for the library and a request for an additional $2,500 to alter the design. He then obtained an email chain with comments from the subcontractor about the meeting.

He said Esposito gave marketing materials to the architect about variable refrigerant flow technology.

“It wasn’t just, ‘Hey, you should look at VRF,’” Gronbach said Monday. “It was, ‘Hey, you should look at VRF and we’re a great partner to work with.’”

The mayor said any proposed change to the HVAC specs should have been made through his office, through Town Council or through the library modernization committee.

Esposito said his company designs VRF but doesn’t make or sell the product for public projects.

He said Gronbach never should have made accusations of a potential conflict of interest in public and that by doing so he violated the town’s code of ethics. He said Gronbach should have submitted the complaint to the town ethics commission if he had a concern, allowing it to follow the appropriate process.

He requested the issue be struck from the night’s agenda, a request seconded by two residents during public comment.

“This is a political farce,” Esposito said. “This body has no right to discuss this.”

Gronbach said he didn’t want to refer the matter to the ethics commission because that would politicize it. The council did not vote to send the matter to the commission.

Councilwoman Katy Francis, who sits on the library modernization committee, criticized the mayor for placing the item on the agenda for a council meeting earlier this month, although Esposito was on his honeymoon and had told members he would be unable to attend.